


Son of Gizmoduck

by Mr_Pinniped



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 1987), DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: 1987 Fenton is 2017 Fenton's father, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Light Angst, Past Character Death, Survivor Guilt, tragic backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:53:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25816858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mr_Pinniped/pseuds/Mr_Pinniped
Summary: Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera discovers the truth about his father.
Relationships: Fenton Crackshell & Gyro Gearloose, Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera & Gyro Gearloose
Comments: 6
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I really like headcanoning that 1987's Fenton Crackshell married M'ma Cabrera, and that 2017 Fenton is their son. And, that the death of Fenton Senior is part of what made Gyro so closed-off. So I explored that a bit. Enjoy!

“Yes you saved us, but that was reckless, and dangerous, and you could have done a lot of damage! What were you thinking, intern?”

Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera sat quietly in his seat. His mentor, Dr. Gyro Gearloose, had just un-fired him, and the two of them were sitting in the lab running some tests on the suit and making sure it hadn’t been damaged or overloaded. 

Dr. Gearloose turned around, ignoring Fenton for a moment to hammer another dent out of the Gizmosuit. “Of course, I should have known it would respond to your voice. You sound just like him. Thank fate you ended up looking more like your mother. Otherwise I would not have had you working here in the first place, haunting me like a ghost after twenty years.”

Gyro turned around again, looking angrily at Fenton. “And you could have met the same end as your father, using the suit before it was ready. It was an irresponsible thing to do, intern!”

“Sir? You knew my father?” Fenton only barely remembered the man, who had died when Fenton was four years old.

“Of course I did. Why do you think I have his armour?”

Fenton gaped at him. “Wait…  _ his  _ armour?”

Gyro slowly turned around, his eyes moving up and down Fenton’s face. “Did Maria never tell you?”

“M’ma? She said he died in an industrial accident.”

“Well, that’s… mostly true.” Gyro sat down again. “It- it did happen in a factory. Chemical spill that both caused a fire and started to rust the building down to its supports in minutes. Nasty stuff, fluorine gas. But Fenton Crackshell- I mean you dad, of course, saved a lot of people that day. But the wheels on the suit jammed before the roof collapsed. He couldn’t get out. And while the suit wasn’t crushed, with the fire, and the smoke, he…” 

Gyro choked on his words, hands tightening on the armrests of his chair.

“So my father was the original Gizmoduck?” He vaguely remembered old news articles about a masked, cybernetically enhanced superhero who had worked in Duckberg when he was very young. 

Gyro nodded. “We worked together when I first moved here. I built the suit, but with his tactical brilliance, he was the one who wore it. Fenton was observant. Perceptive. He could find a way out of nearly any troublesome situation. Except for that fire.”

Gyro spun around in his chair, gazing out the underwater window into the bay. “And if the wheels hadn’t jammed, he'd still be…I'll never know for sure if I could have prevented it." He was looking resolutely away from Fenton, but Fenton thought he could see a tear welling up behind the spectacles. "And then Scrooge went and hired _you_ as my intern, and somehow you found the suit’s blueprints right away and started working on it- I assumed you knew. I assumed you wanted to follow in his footsteps! But your mother never told you…” he trailed off. 

Gyro's voice was very quiet when he spoke again. “Maria was devastated when he died of course. She was even braver than he was when they were young, you know. But with him gone, and you to take care of, she took a promotion for a more managerial position. Desk duty was safer than field work. I didn’t speak to her much after… after it happened.”

“I never knew.” Fenton stared at his mentor.

“I might have an old photo somewhere,” Gyro opened the lower drawer of his desk and rifled through a row of files. He pulled out an old, battered folder labelled “Gizmosu”. Part of the word had been torn off. “Here it is- first time he was testing the prototype.”

Gyro handed Fenton the small piece of paper. It showed a much younger Dr. Gearloose, with a shock of startlingly red hair, standing in front of a white-feathered duck who was smiling down from the Gizmosuit. Even though the suit’s visor was partially down, Fenton could recognize his father.

“I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe, Intern. But that means you’ve got to be careful with the suit. I’m not letting you share his fate.”

“Yes, sir.” said Fenton. He tried to hand the photo back, but Gyro waved his hand away. “Keep it. Show Maria- she should know, if you’re going to be Gizmoduck. She’ll want you to be safe as well, I’ll see you tomorrow, Intern.”

Fenton pocketed the old photograph and departed. He wasn’t sure if he would tell his M’ma just yet. Maybe in a little while, once he had control of the suit.

He just saw Gyro slump down at his desk as the elevator door closed. 


	2. Chapter 2

Gyro pulled off his glasses and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. He’d held back, as well as he could, while his intern was here, but now he was alone. He stared out the bay window at a clump of undulating seaweed, not really seeing it. He hadn’t expected that wound to re-open. Why did it hurt so badly?

_Of all the possible interns…_

Mr. McDuck had insisted extra help in the lab would bring faster results. Gyro had resisted at first. He preferred to work alone. He had Lil Bulb, didn’t he? He had a whole platoon of Lil Bulbs! No need for another messy, organic brain putting messy, organic ideas into his well-organized lab. But the Board of Directors had insisted, and Scrooge had offered more funding, and Gyro had agreed. But why, out of all the fresh-faced graduates in the world, had Scrooge insisted he hire Fenton’s _son?_ Yes, he was enthusiastic, and brave, and creative, but every moment he was a walking reminder of one of the worst mistakes of Gyro’s life.

A large, gray fish swam lazily past the window. Gyro watched the slow circles of its fins. He never could be entirely sure if he could have prevented Fenton’s death. Fluorine gas corroded just about anything. Fenton knew that, but into the factory he went, again and again, damping the flames and pulling out workers. He’d been so _very_ brave. 

“You were one of my best friends, Fenton,” he said aloud to the empty lab. He sat down again at his desk, rifling through one of the drawers “What would you think of him, if you were still here?” 

Gyro pulled out a neat sheet of lab letterhead, then dug around for his fanciest pen. He wiped his eyes again and put his glasses back on. 

_Dear Fenton,_ he began, then paused, and pushed his hair away from his face. He hadn’t written one of these letters in years. It wasn’t entirely logical, he knew, but it had helped ease the pain, back when the loss of his friend was fresh and raw. When his sleep nearly every night had been haunted by the sight of that cracked visor, that corroded axle, those worn wheel-wells.

_Maybe you know this, if you’re out there somewhere, watching…_ Gyro didn’t know. Ghosts were real, he had met Duckworth several times. But not everyone who died lingered as a ghost. Where did they go? He continued writing.

_Mr. McDuck hired your son to work for me. He’s grown up now, believe it or not. I still remember when you showed me his baby pictures. Physically, he takes after his mother, but in other ways… he’s just like you. Intelligent, courageous, and a little too eager. Reckless sometimes, even. The suit fits him like a glove, of course. I hadn’t intended him to wear it. I hadn’t intended that suit to ever see the light of day again. But he… he says ‘Blabbering Blatherskite” when he’s surprised. He must have picked that up from you when he was little._

Gyro’s hand trembled over the page for a moment, and he blinked hard. His eyes were starting to feel misty again.

_I think you’d be proud of him. He’s a good kid. I’d be happy to have him as my intern, if only he didn’t remind me of you so much._

A tear dropped onto the page, but Gyro kept writing.

 _I just wish it wasn’t so hard to call him by his name- by_ your _name. Fenton._

Gyro stopped and stared at the page. There was more he could say, perhaps. There was certainly more that he felt. But it was late and he was tired and all he wanted was a warm shower and a cup of herbal tea. He didn’t know how to put the rest of his thoughts into words- to tell Fenton about how he wanted to be a good mentor, to help the young man be the best scientist he could be, but also how he wanted to protect him from the dangers of being Gizmoduck, and how he hoped Fenton would be pleased that his son was following in his footsteps. 

No, there was too much right now. Fenton would understand, if he was somehow listening. Gyro put pen to paper again and finished simply:

_I miss you._

_-G_

Then he rolled up the page and crossed the lab to the chemistry bench. He lit a bunsen burner and carefully held the paper over the blue flame, dropping it into the sink when it caught, letting his words dissipate in a cloud of curling smoke. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about the sad Gyro, but... I really like this headcanon and the second chapter kinda wrote itself.


End file.
